Each year, charitable foundations and government agencies in the United States give billions of dollars to nonprofits. However, small, rural, and economically struggling communities don’t get their fair share of this money. Why? One reason among many is that rural communities and rural nonprofits often lack adequate resources to research and write winning grant proposals.
This blog is managed by the Franklin Public Library’s Grant Resource Center, whose mission is to help rural northwest Pennsylvania’s non-profit organizations, churches, and government agencies overcome this “rural philanthropic divide”. As part of the nationwide network of Foundation Center Cooperating Collections, we provide resources and programming for non-profit staff, board members, volunteers, and friends.
- Free access to three databases of potential funders: the Foundation Directory Online, Foundation Grants to Individuals, and Pennsylvania Foundations Online
- Print versions of these databases available for reference (the most recent editions are non-circulating, so they should always be here when you need them)
- Free classes on how to use the databases, how to write grant proposals, and other topics of interest to grantseekers
- A growing collection of circulating books on nonprofit management, writing grant proposals, fundraising, and more (we are a library, after all)
Kate Burgdorfer is the Coordinator for the Grant Center, and she loves her job. Email her to ask a question, to share grant proposals you’ve written, or to talk about chickens.
Northwest PA's Grant Resource Center 
Great Blog! There is so much information here. I can’t wait to use it in the future!